The Impact Hub will provide Bradford with a long term jobs boost

BRADFORD has always been a city of pioneers.

It was built by rugged individualists with robust social consciences who were keen to become wealthy through the flow of global trade.

As a proud Bradfordian, Kamran Rashid, wants to build on this rich heritage to create a new generation of fast growing enterprises.

“This is the city where Titus Salt created his workers’ village in the 1800s; where William Forster worked on the first national education legislation, and the city’s schools were the first to offer free meals to children,’’ said Mr Rashid.

Mr Rashid was instrumental in ensuring the first Impact Hub in the North of England is based in Bradford, which means the city is connected to the world’s largest networks of social entrepreneurs.

From its new home at the Grade II listed Digital Exchange in the heart of Bradford’s historic Little Germany district, Impact Hub Bradford, a community interest company, will help foster social innovation, enterprise, ideas incubation and business development, offering aspiring entrepreneurs, opportunities and space to collaborate.

Bradford is the third UK city with Impact Hub status, joining London - which has hubs in Islington and Kings Cross - and Inverness in giving access to a global network of more than 100 Impact Hubs across 50 countries worldwide including Tokyo in Japan and San Francisco in the US.

The bid for Impact Hub status was led by Mr Rashid, its newly appointed chief executive officer, and co-founders Mandip Sahota and Imran Ali.

All Bradford-born, the team established 30 Chapel Street, the company which carried out the work necessary to join Impact Hub’s global network, through which they attracted major international events to the city, building a community of interest in innovation for social change.

Working in partnership with organisations including TED, the Royal Society of Arts and Red Bull has helped to put social enterprise in Bradford on an international stage, demonstrating that there is local demand for global collaboration from social innovators.

Mr Rashid said: “We’ve been working towards bringing an Impact Hub to Bradford for more than three years and, as the world begins to emerge from the horrors and disruption of a global pandemic, the need to work differently, collaboratively, to change society for the better has never been more apparent.

“We’re excited to be introducing Bradford to an international network that uses the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals as a lens through which to view our impact in the world.

“We want Impact Hub Bradford to be a hopeful element in the city’s recovery and a sustainable model for the future.”

With a commitment to creating social value through innovation and what it describes as ‘collisions’ between people and ideas, Impact Hub Bradford will host a programme of events and offer a range of services to social enterprises, SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) , micro-businesses, artists, performers, designers and business people who want to make a positive social impact.

This activity will help to secure investment for social entrepreneurs and the wider city. It also aims to nurture a spirit of collaboration across sectors including arts, healthcare and technology, which would not ordinarily work together, to encourage the formation of new projects and ventures.

There is also a membership scheme which includes four tiered packages ranging from access to shared co-working spaces, to meeting rooms and event spaces, as well as free and discounted places on a programme of workshops and training.

Spaces will also be available for hire to non-members.

Bradford has plenty of reasons to be cheerful, despite the cloud cast by the pandemic. PwC moved to the city in 2019 and described Bradford as the ‘most improved city’ in its Growth for Cities Index, due to the large number of skilled jobs and the work life balance.

In 2020, The Sunday Times named the Bradford district in the 20 best places for business in the UK and the city is also preparing to bid for the UK City of Culture 2025. The future is rich with promise.

“Impact Hub marks the next chapter in Bradford’s long history as a catalyst for social innovation,’’ said Mr Rashid.

“Research shows that young people want jobs that contribute to making the world a better place. We want to harness the voices of Bradford’s youthful population, building on the growing confidence in the city, to build social capital.”

Born and raised in Bradford, Mr Rashid had been concerned about the lack of co-working space in the city.

Over the last five years, steps have been taken to find extra space for ambitious companies. The Impact Hub plans to tap into this encouraging trend.

Mr Rashid recalled: “ I had spent some time in London and approached the Impact Hub in Kings Cross to see if I could open something similar in Bradford. There is quite a process to go through before you can open an Impact Hub. The next step is the scaling up phase.

“We have got the licence for the next Ted event in Bradford and we are looking to create an enterprise support programme for women.

“Membership of Impact Hub means we have access to toolkits and strategies, he added.

“Bradford has got a history of social innovation and supporting the most vulnerable in society.

“In Little Germany (an attractive neighbourhood of offices and warehouses built by German wool merchants who moved to Bradford in the 1800s) we hope to have developed a really mature eco-system,’’ he said.

“Innovation is in Bradford’s DNA. We are also seeing a lot more brands looking to address how they help society.

“We need an easy point of entry for lots of start-ups. Bradford has a young and diverse workforce. We can make it work in Bradford.”

He hopes the hub will have a workforce of between 12 to 15 staff in the next two to three years. as demand for its services grows.

“We want to create conditions for start up success.”

Bradford’s most passionate advocates are people who have always called the city home and want to sell its virtues to the world.

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James Mitchinson